


On The Nose

by cynatnite



Series: The Clint Barton and Tony Stark Playbook of Brothers [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Broken nose Clint, Phil and Clint banter, Pre-Slash, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 19:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11088150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cynatnite/pseuds/cynatnite
Summary: It's a painful, but not bad first meeting of Phil and Clint.  Obadiah shows his true colors to Clint.





	On The Nose

One of the few things that Clint found relaxation in doing was making arrows. He’d made all sorts of tweaks to the various bows he’d built over the last few years, but making his own arrows was as peaceful as he’d ever known.

Tony offered up a lab for Clint’s own, but he preferred a corner of his adopted brother’s much larger one at the Malibu mansion. Despite Tony’s petulant attitude, he and Clint found even more reasons to bond and the work helped.

A little over a year after Clint’s adoption, Howard and Maria were tragically killed in a car accident. It had been a devastating loss. Clint was ready to run away, but Tony held on because he needed him just as much.

So, Clint stayed and got his education. After a double bachelor’s degree, he opted to not work at SI much to Tony’s chagrin. Instead, Clint found a profession in which he excelled. It was a secret he hated to keep, but that’s what his life had become only this one Tony would never find out. Long ago he’d made sure that the world at large didn’t know that Clint was Tony’s brother. He’d never been comfortable with the spotlight.

When Tony finally found an assistant he couldn’t drive away, Clint made a point of letting Pepper Potts know his feelings. She handled all his finances and the enormous fortune that he inherited. Pepper was even his proxy at the stockholder’s meetings and his name remained in the dark but for a very few.

Pepper became the sister he never had which brought a bit of a smile out of Clint. Clint loved those moments when he and Pepper would sit poolside with their feet dangling in the water, drinking ice tea and sharing bits of their lives with one another. Those times she reminded him of Maria who was so easy with her smile and affection.

Clint laughed a little to himself when he thought about the last one with Pepper telling him about Tony driving her crazy. She loved it and he loved her for how well she took care of Tony.

The door on the other side of the room came open and Clint straightened at seeing Obadiah.

“Tony not back I see,” Obadiah commented as he went to see Clint’s work.

“Yeah, he got an invite to some party in London. He mentioned Richard Branson.” Clint glanced over to see the scowl on Obadiah’s face. He kept his grin to himself at the sight. _Anything for a good cause_ , Clint thought smugly.

“It’s you I wanted to talk to anyway.”

Clint set down the soldering iron and grabbed a towel. “What about?”

The thick folder landed on the workbench with a loud thwack. Clint gave Obadiah a curious glance and he opened to the first page. He didn’t have to read long to know what it said.

“You had me followed.” Clint closed it and grabbed his bottle of water.

“More like rumors about a merc who prefers arrows on occasion. Wasn’t hard to follow up on it.”

“And?” Clint didn’t have to wonder long what Obadiah planned to do with the information.

“Sell your stock to me. You’ll get market value and this information stays in my hands.”

Clint shook his head and refrained from laughing. He couldn’t afford to completely piss off Obadiah.

“Should’ve planned better, Stane. All I’ve gotta do is let Tony in on my activities. Either way, he’s not going to boot me to the curb. You should know better.”

“Tony is stupidly loyal,” Obadiah agreed. “The stockholders, the public…probably not so much when they find out that not only does Tony Stark have a secret adopted brother, but an assassin as well. How well do you think he can weather that storm?”

No way was Clint going to entertain that thought. He sure as hell wasn’t going to let Tony suffer on account of him.

“Easy. I’ll sell my stake to Tony or Pepper. Hell, I’ll even sell it to one of the janitors at SI for a buck if it means keeping it out of your hands. They’ll weather it well enough without my name attached.”

A vein bulged on Obadiah’s temple and Clint then did grin. Threatening Tony was going too far.

“Fucking punk!” Obadiah cursed. “Keep your goddamn stock. Move out. Get out of the mansion.”

“Seriously?” Clint barked a laugh. “That’s what you’ve got left?”

“You’ve got serious enemies, Barton. Get the fuck out or I’ll send them your way. I’m sure you’d rather not have Pepper or Tony in the way when they find you.”

Clint stilled. Even if he handed over his SI interests, he knew it wouldn’t last long. Stane was determined to get him out of the way even if it cost Pepper or Tony’s lives. Obadiah would get everything with the three of them out of the picture.

“I bet it pissed you off when you suddenly found yourself with two heirs to the Stark fortune after I came along. Tony being the only one was easy. Two is fucking impossible!”

Obadiah’s eyes gave it away. He’d won and knew it. “You’ve got a week.”

Clint watched him grab the file on his way out the door.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes, Clint,” The AI answered.

“Delete the conversation I just had with Stane.”

“Your brother should be made aware.”

“No, I can’t risk it. Not a trace, Jarvis.”

“Yes, sir.”

 

~*~

 

A year later, Clint was running down an alley in Cleveland. He fucking hated Cleveland. _Never a good time to be had in this town_ , he thought grimly.

The rain pelted his face and he was soaked. His drenched clothes seemed to weigh him down as he tried to escape the suit that was on his tail. Clint had spent four arrows into the head of a guy that was taking kids for porn production.

He dropped behind a garbage bin and tried to catch his breath.

“Last time I do pro bono work,” Clint muttered as he peeked around the trash bin.

The suit stopped several feet away. The man was just as wet as Clint was, but he looked like he could go another twelve miles. Even in the dark rainy night, Clint thought the suit was on the attractive side. It was kind of hard to tell. The guy looked peeved.

When the suit turned his way, Clint knew he’d be found. He shot off down the alley with the sounds of the rain landing around him. He only heard his own breathing as he pushed on and it suddenly occurred to him if Stane had something to do with how easily he’d been found in fucking Cleveland of all places.

Clint thought he heard someone shout, but ignored it. He was sure he was getting away, that is until he felt a sharp bite in his thigh. Clint slowed enough to make a grab and found a dart.

“Fuck!”

He got four steps before landing face first on the cement and he was out.

 

~*~

 

It was nice to wake up in a dry and warm bed. Clint shifted his head and grimaced. His face hurt like hell. He brought his hand up and felt the thick bandage covering his nose.

“Awe, nose, no!”

He got a glance of the sterile hospital room when the door opened. The suit walked in looking as if he’d just finished auditing a tax evader.

“Good to see you awake,” the man said.

Clint got the cup of melted ice chips at the table next to him. He hid the pain he felt when he took a drink.

“Since when does breaking the nose of an unconscious victim pass for acceptable behavior,” Clint complained. “I might know a lawyer.”

“You’d have to sue yourself, I’m afraid. It was a spectacular fall on hard cement.”

“Not when you’re the reason it broke in the first place.” Clint gently touched his face again. Pepper’s birthday party was next week. How was he going to explain this? Oh, wait, he looked at the suit again.

“Agent Phil Coulson. I’m with Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics.”

“Haven’t heard of that one.”

“We stay under the radar,” Phil offered.

“That’s not something I can call a lawyer for, is it?”

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Barton.”

“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised you know my name.”

“No. We’re good like that, although, you have a gap of several years we’re not able to track. It’s unusual to say the least.”

“Glad I impressed you,” Clint smirked.

“We’re more impressed with your skills and work ethic.” Phil took a seat. “You vet your targets and take little to no money for the worst society has to offer. A man with your talents could easily make seven figures if you cared less about who you kill.”

“I’m all about high ethics and clean living, Coulson.”

“SHIELD is prepared to offer you a place with us. We think our organization would be a good fit.”

“You want me to kill for you,” Clint stated. “You almost sound like the dicks at the other alphabet agencies.”

“I didn’t realize they’d made contact.”

“They didn’t. It’s just how I imagined they’d sound. The answer’s no, Coulson. I pick my targets because I don’t trust anyone to pick them for me.”

“We can have it written into your contract. The vetting process will be open for your inspection to insure you have everything you need.”

“You can promise that?”

“My boss grants me a certain amount of leeway on recruitments.”

“Do I get a nice set of prison bars if I refuse?”

“You’ll be allowed to leave as you choose, but keep in mind we won’t be so kind should you interfere with one of our ops, inadvertently or not.”

Phil Coulson wasn’t the romance novel cover of hotness, but the suits were enough to make Clint curious about what was underneath. No doubt a well-built body and the man moved smooth as if there was nothing he couldn’t do. Clint suspected a smile came easy on Phil Coulson in the right environment.

Aside from that, the job sounded tempting. Clint needed to do a bit of investigating on his own before he agreed.

“I need a week to decide,” Clint informed him.

“Good enough.”

Phil Coulson left his card on the table before leaving. Clint was pretty sure he was going to say yes anyway.


End file.
